Grosse Pointe Blank, the 1997 movie about assassin Martin Q. Blank, played by John Cusack, who begrudgingly returns to his hometown for his 10 year high school reunion, is 25 years old! So it's the perfect opportunity to talk about this hit man experiencing an existential crisis, and a few others, who it's fair to say, aren't.

When did the hired killer become cool? Whether it be Alain Delon in trench coat and fedora in Le Samourai, Vincent and Jules talking fast food in Pulp Fiction, or Lil Natalie Portman proving you're never too young to learn a trade in Leon, cinema loves a cold blooded professional without a moral compass or a compassionate bone in their blood spattered body. They're all about the job and usually like to keep things strictly business... until things inevitably get personal. The contract killer is a cinematic cultural icon, a legitimate lynchpin of film; from action to drama, comedy to something more complicated, they know their target audience.